http://benlog.com crypto applied to public policy Thu, 01 May 2008 01:57:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [inspired by John Gruber and Mark Pilgrim.] Karl Rove, ex-Senior Advisor to Bush, in today's Newsweek giving Obama advice. Four months ago, you took the political world by storm in Iowa. The media were agog. They called your words "gorgeous," your victory "a message to the world." You "made history" and Americans ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/04/30/translation-from-rove-speak-to-plain-english/ I was at WWW2008 last week in Beijing, where I presented a Tutorial on RDFa with Elias Torres and Ivan Herman, and SessionLock, a technique for securing web session used over unencrypted HTTP. The conference was a lot of fun. Spent quite a bit of time discussing security with Collin Jackson ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/04/29/www2008/ Lessig knocks one out of the park: Share This http://benlog.com/articles/2008/03/30/lessig-on-obama/ For the last few years, Bush and others within the Republican Party have ignored and distorted scientific evidence because the evidence didn't match their ideology. The latest example this weekend is the administration's attitude on the Endangered Species Act, but of course the most glaring example is the pseudo-controversy they ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/03/23/an-inconvenient-truth-about-the-left/ Lessig launches the Change Congress movement. This is supremely important if you want the government to actually work for the People. There are four issues on which you can voice an opinion regarding your preferred candidate's beliefs: not accept contributions from lobbyists an Political Action Committees abolish of earmarks increase ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/03/21/change-congress/ Though I don't think paper-trail voting machines will fully solve our voting problems, I agree with many voting activists that today's unverified voting machines are a potential security disaster waiting to happen. That said, it's become clear to me (and many other voting researchers) over the last few years ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/03/19/trusting-the-machine/ I've always wondered what my parents felt when they heard the great political speeches of their generation. Now I know. Share This http://benlog.com/articles/2008/03/18/a-witness-to-history/ I've written about how it's a really bad idea to have web sites asking for your gmail password, "just to load your contacts!" I like the name Jeremy Keith gave it: the Password Anti-Pattern. Sure, Facebook likely isn't going to do naughty things with your data, but once you're used ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/03/08/bad-and-good-news-on-the-just-give-me-your-password-front/ In anticipation of tonight's results, I was going to try to write something that captures my incredibly hopeful and enthusiastic state of mind, but my good friend Oliver beat me to it: Doesn’t some part of you still believe that there are special moments in the world? Special people who catalyze ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/03/04/hope/ On election day for the last 4 years, I try to put aside my political preferences and my incessant blabbing about voting equipment, and I work as an election clerk at a polling station. In 2006, I worked as a precinct warden in Boston, and before that as an election ... http://benlog.com/articles/2008/02/08/my-day-as-an-election-clerk-in-santa-clara-county/